Usually packing for trips does not stump me, but packing for a month in Singapore followed by a week in Japan in late November has me lying awake at night and making lengthy to-do lists on my iPhone while lying awake.
I've always been partial to keeping lists for packing, but this is extreme, especially since I don't leave for 6 weeks. Ahhhhh! Six weeks is so soon! How will I get it all figured out before then?
The deal is: I'll be in Singapore (where it's hot) for 4 weeks working. And then I'll be in Japan for one week for vacation (where it's supposed to be pretty much like it is here in November). If I were packing for only one climate I think I would be a lot less stressed out about this. Especially since I'll be working, I'll need multiple pairs of shoes and that sort of thing. Not the way I normally pack.
And then there is the whole toiletry situation. Do I buy shampoos and whatnot there? What about toothpaste? Lotion? What am I very particular about that I must have brands I know? (face cream, curl encourager, band aids, stuff for my time of the month) For the stuff that I do bring, how will I know that I'm bringing enough?
See, this is what keeps me up at night.
Then there is the audio situation. I will certainly miss listening to Pandora and NPR. I can still stream NPR on my laptop, I presume. I have all my CDs on my ipod, but to play it, I will need to bring portable speakers. That seems a little unnecessary, though. My work laptop has none of my music on it and I don't want to spend hours and hours putting music on it, really. So that is a dilemma to still be worked out. I want to take 30 Day Shred, but my laptop's CD-ROM is detachable and I don't intend to take it. I am seriously considering recording myself announcing what exercises to do. This is how bad it has gotten.
Then I need The Perfect Bag for everyday use. I think this bag will be a satchel type bag. It will be cute, but functional. It will have some pockets inside and out. It will fit my laptop if need be, in its own sleeve, so a built-in pocket is not necessary. It will fit my camera and all of the usual junk that I carry around in my purse on a daily basis, including a water bottle. It will be comfortable to carry and it will not be too large. Every time I look at eBags I think I have settled on a different one.
Too blah?
Too young? The reviews say mostly 10-year-olds use this bag.
Maybe?
It goes on and on. Even now one of those I am listing here is one I had not noticed before. Too much choice!
And I haven't even gotten to the suitcase situation yet. The one I tend to use is good for a week's vacation. Ten days requires reeeeally careful packing and a lot of rewearing and washing of things in sinks. This one suitcase is not going to hack it. Traveling with two suitcases seems like tourist failure to me, but most tourists don't travel for five weeks, so I guess I get a pass this once. I hope.
4 comments:
2 suitcases are totally reasonable. Buy your shampoo there. I find that whenever I bring shampoo (and it's not Neutrogena), it doesn't rinse out completely and leaves a residue and I get limp hair.
As for other toiletries, I say go crazy and try the local stuff for most of it. You might like that stuff better and end up bringing a ton of it home with you.
I would suggest packing your Winter bag for Japan and leaving it with Jeff. He will bring it to you PROBLEM SOLVED.
Now I will dust my hands.
I considered that, but that would mean he'd have to check a bag and Jeff does not do that, so, back to square one.
it'll be similar to packing for a vacation - don't worry about bringing too little, there will always be something you don't wear. Enough unmentionables, something warm, two pairs of good shoes, a scarf for layering, and basic makeup - the rest you can buy. I had zero problem with toiletries in Hong Kong but do bring OB if that's what you use.
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